Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) EVP James Potts Sells 3,487 Shares

Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) EVP James Potts sold 3,487 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.55, for a total value of $130,936.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 35,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,333,963.75. This trade represents a 8.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Barrett Business Services Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ BBSI opened at $38.05 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $934.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.71, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.95. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.33 and a 52-week high of $49.65.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.02. Barrett Business Services had a return on equity of 22.89% and a net margin of 3.24%.The business had revenue of $307.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $306.68 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.04) earnings per share. Barrett Business Services’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Barrett Business Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. Barrett Business Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barrett Business Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,219 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $626,000 after purchasing an additional 633 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services during the 1st quarter worth about $3,747,000. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services during the first quarter valued at about $1,732,000. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 71.8% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 9,778 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $408,000 after buying an additional 4,085 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services by 40.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 37,923 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,581,000 after buying an additional 10,994 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on BBSI shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Barrett Business Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Zacks Research upgraded Barrett Business Services from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Barrett Business Services from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.50.

About Barrett Business Services

Barrett Business Services, Inc (NASDAQ: BBSI) is a professional employer organization (PEO) headquartered in Northridge, California. Founded in 1971 by Barrett K. Levesque, the company provides comprehensive human resources outsourcing solutions to small and mid-sized businesses. Through its consultative model, Barrett Business Services helps clients streamline administrative processes, mitigate regulatory risk and focus on core operations.

The company’s core offerings include payroll administration, employee benefits management, workers’ compensation and risk management services.